Sen. Kay Hagan addressed constituent concerns about the looming military drawdown and sequestration during her visit to Onslow and Carteret counties this week.

“North Carolina is third in the nation when it comes to military numbers, and I know how important it is to people here,” Hagan said, adding that she comes from a family of Marines and sailors.

A group of women from the N.C. Ladies Auxiliary for Veterans Foreign Wars were among the few dozen people who met with Hagan in Onslow County on Tuesday.

Swansboro resident and state chairwoman Eileen Wokosky said she was most concerned about the sequestration and how it would affect veterans.

“We don’t want the last 10 years of wars to be paid for on the backs of the veterans who fought,” she said, adding she found Hagan’s answers to be very reassuring.

Hagan said she was one of a group of 20 senators — 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans — who were working to prevent the automatic cuts sequestration would bring about.

“It is not the way to do things,” she said.

Hagan and her staff spoke with other constituents about mostly military-related concerns. She met with Carteret County residents earlier in the day in Morehead City. Her staff said questions during that session closely mirrored those asked at the Onslow County Multipurpose Complex.

Hagan said her Constituent Services staff was always available for anyone in the area and all of North Carolina who needed help navigating issues with federal agencies, such as the IRS, Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration.

Joyce Mitchell, Hagan’s community outreach director based in Greenville, said Onslow and Carteret counties residents with questions or concerns could call her and she would be happy to begin the process to get Hagan working on their problems. Mitchell can be reached at 252-754-0707 or at joyce_mitchell@hagan.senate.gov.

Hagan said she likes to travel North Carolina to learn about how she can help her constituents.

“North Carolina is a big state,” she said. “I like to meet with people in their community and learn about the problems their facing and find out what’s important to them.”

Hagan regularly hosts “Conversations with Kay” in communities across the state. She plans to hold events in all 100 North Carolina counties before the end of the year, according to her staff.

Contact Daily News Senior Reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8455 or lindell.kay@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook @ 1lindell.